In the fall, my friend and I bought tickets to go see Othello on Broadway, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. I had paid for a hotel room and everything.
Then Americans re-elected an unhinged serial rapist and con man to lead their country, one who had supported a violent failed coup against his country when he lost in 2020. Gone were the adults in the room of his first term to curtail his worst impulses.
He, empowered by a sycophantic Republican Party and media apparatus, slid the nation into authoritarianism. This new regime has now repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, is in the early stages of trying to annex Greenland, and is abducting people off the streets for writing critical op eds. Visiting Canadians have been detained in camps for weeks on end without explanation.
On top of all that is the treatment of trans people, a favourite punching bag of the right. The administration introduced edict after edict to purge trans people from society. Among them was a ban on issuing visas to trans foreigners. A Canadian musician had to cancel his US tour because of it. Trans Americans wishing to travel abroad for their part are also being targeted by the US government over their passports.
So, with everything going on, I have cancelled my vacation to the United States. I will spend those thousands of dollars in Canada instead.
I would love to go back one day, but not until this regime is out of power.